Qaddafi's Dream May Come True

by Ayaz Ahmed Pirzada
March 2, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1308/qaddafi-dream-may-come-true

The revolt in Libya which began on February 15 is fast reaching its conclusion though the embattled President Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to stay in power at any cost. Government forces and mercenaries attacked protesters with live arms on Friday (Feb 25,2011) killing dozens in and around Tripoli. A pitched battle is raging in the Libyan capital which in the entire country seems to be the only place where Qaddafi's loyalist have some semblance of control. Qaddafi has said that he would not leave the country at any cost and would prefer to give his life in his own country and become a martyer.No body is sure about him becoming a martyr but his dream to die in his country may come true if the mutineers take control of Tripoli , the Libyan capital.

The opponents have already taken control of second largest city Benghazi and some small towns around the capital. The rebels are likely to form a governing council comprising civil and military defectors to govern the occupied cities and supervise the war strategy against the troops loyal to Qaddafi. Defectors, Mustafa Mohamed Abd al-Jalil, interior minister and a senior air force officers are likely to hold top positions in the council. Till Tripoli falls into the hands of opponents, Benghazi would be head quarter of the council.

Meanwhile in Tripoli bloody clashes are taking place and for the time being government troops and special militias with plenty of superior lethal weapons hold control in major localities of the city. The city is looking like a ghost town where Qaddafi's plainclothes police and security forces are hunting down the rebels. The rebels are in dire need of arms, food and water and looking for reinforcement of fighters from other regions which have so far fallen to them. According to media reports the government forces and mercenaries are perpetrating worst kind of violence and killing protesters in dozens in Tripoli and other places. A pitched battle is raging in the Libyan capital which in the entire country seems to be the only place where Qaddafi's loyalist have some semblance of control. Undaunted by atrocities committed by the government forces, a streak of defections is also continuing unabated weakening what ever is left of the government machinery .Qaddafi's support among the people has so much eroded that different segments of the society have left him .Much of the country comprises tribal society and ever since brutalities were unleashed on the people a number of tribes including majority of Qaddafi's own clan are calling for his ouster from power. They are infuriated at the blood shed of innocent people at the hands of what they call, 'mujnoon' (mad man).

At the international scene Libya which labored hard to have friends after the Lockerbie tragedy and handing over its nuclear assets to the USA in packed wooden crates ,now stands totally isolated. President Obama has called for abdication from power of Col Qaddafi as he has lost the confidence of the people of Libya. Obama said "when a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now."

The United States has also unilaterally imposed sanctions on the Libyan government giving assurance to citizens protection of their assets and property. The UN Security Council in its meeting on Feb 26 voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Libya's leader, Qaddafi, and his inner circle of advisers, and called for an international war crimes investigation into "widespread and systemic attacks" against Libyan citizens who have protested against his government over the last two weeks. The resolution also imposes an arms embargo against Libya, an international travel ban on 16 Libyan leaders and freezes the assets of Colonel Qaddafi and members of his family, including seven of his sons and a daughter. Also included in the sanctions were measures against defense and intelligence officials who are believed to have played a role in the violence against civilians in Libya. Libya's own delegation to the United Nations, which has defected, sent a letter to the Security Council president, Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti supporting the resolution on the situation in Libya. In view of grim situation in Libya, many countries are going to close their missions in Tripoli .So far Britain and France closed their embassies in Tripoli.Some experts believe that clamping of sanctions would only hurt the people of Libya who are now locked in a fight for their lives. The Prime minister of Turkey's Tayyab Erdogan has warned that sanctions would cause more harm to the Libyans than to Qaddafi.

The Amnesty International has said that over the last few days, hundreds of protesters have reportedly been killed in Libya in the midst of large scale anti-government protests. Libyan leader Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi and his government appear to be prepared to kill an unlimited number of people to stay in power. The world community should act urgently come to the help of people of Libya to liberate them from the tyrant who subjugated them since September 1969. The country is slipping away from his control as town after town are falling to the brave people even though they are not having required weapons. In view of horrific atrocities being perpetrated on the Libyans, defection of diplomats, civilian government servants and military men, Qaddafi would face doom and gloom in the next few weeks if not days.

The writer is a former diplomat

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